This invention is directed to a disposable earlobe piercing earring and clutch cartridge and instrument for use therewith and in particular, to an earlobe piercing assembly for facilitating earlobe piercing and maintaining the piercing earring sterile during handling, storage and piercing.
The most recent prior art ear piercing systems are of two types, namely cartridge housed earrings and open earrings. Both types operate by inserting a pointed earring or stud through the earlobe. This earring remains in place four to six weeks until the hole produced is healed.
The cartridge housed earring systems utilize either a cartridge housing a single piercing earring and clasp, requiring two cartridges per pair of earrings; a separate cartridge for each earring and clasp requiring four cartridges per pair of earrings; or no cartridge, but instead earrings and clasps which are unprotected and inserted into the piercing instrument from a carrier block. In all cases excessive handling with a high potential for earrings coming in contact with the fingers of the ear piercing instrument operator result, increasing the chance of cross contamination between successive ear piercing patients and the ear piercing instrument operator. Furthermore, these systems do not protect the instrument itself from contamination due to human contact or back splashing of blood or fluids during piercing.
Two prior art references, namely U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,004,470 and 5,007,918 issued to Samuel J. Mann introduced disposable, cartridge housed earrings of several different and random shaped styles featuring enclosure or encapsulation of the earring so that the earring may not be touched before or during the piercing process. The earring clasps or clutches are housed in a separate cartridge and are not totally encapsulated, but make direct contact with the operator difficult. When utilizing these prior art systems, both earring cartridges and clasp cartridges are inserted into a piercing instrument. This piercing instrument is of simple design and retains the cartridge within slide tracks. The earlobe is placed in the gap between the ear piercing earring cartridge and the clasp clutch cartridge. The plunger is displaced into the earring cartridge, ejecting the earring out of the cartridge, through the earlobe, and into the clasp, automatically releasing the clasp from the cartridge, completing the piercing process. In order to form a second piercing hole, both the earring cartridge and clutch cartridge are removed from the instrument, inverted, and the process is repeated. In the system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,470 the stud cartridge and clutch cartridge are not removed, but are slid within the ear piercing instrument to place the non-ejected earring in piercing position.
These prior art devices have been satisfactory. However, they suffer from the disadvantage that the disposable cartridges which prevent contact between each person and the instrument do not fully cover the piercing area of the instrument itself which is proximate to the earlobe allowing potential for contamination from blood back splash or the like. Additionally, because the cartridge must be inverted or slid by hand by the ear piercing instrument operator, the cartridges are still excessively handled exposing the cartridges to contamination from the operator as well as the susceptibility of being dropped. This is particularly significant when handling the clutch cartridge in which the clutches are exposed to some extent and may even be touched during handling.
A further deficiency, particularly in the ear piercing cartridge assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,918 is the use of a pair of bullet shaped capsules which are split longitudinally with the halves being connected by means of a thin hinge molded into the halves at the front of the bullet in the ejection direction. During the piercing procedure, as the earring is ejected, the earring must break the hinge in order to exit the front of the bullet and pass into the earlobe. Additional force is required to break the hinge thus making the procedure balky, preventing smooth insertion of the ear piercing earring. Such force requirements makes operation difficult for some operators.
A further deficiency in the prior art ear piercing cartridge assemblies is that during the ear piercing process, it is necessary for the operator to hold the earlobe firmly in place against the clutch cartridge. The operator utilizes their fingertips to hold the earlobe in place. If the operator does not follow rigid cleansing procedures, the potential for contamination of the earlobe being pierced exists. Additionally, because the earlobe is not firmly retained in place, even when held by the operator's fingers, it is possible that nervous ear piercing patients will move their head causing the earring being inserted to be deflected from its intended path causing it to pierce portions of the ear other than the intended location, or it could be deflected sideways and only partially into the earlobe causing pain, bleeding and the need to reinsert the earring.
Accordingly, an ear piercing instrument and cartridge which eliminates earring handling through a simple, unitary construction and overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art is desired.